All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Makovsky

@Jason Pinkerton I have done both, and my systems were not strong enough to hire a VA, so local help has been MUCH better for my business. If you have a really strong system, or a specific task that is easy to repeat without the need for much brainwork then hiring a VA is probably a way more economical move. However, I really like that my staff can use critical thinking methods and easily communicate with tenants, vendors, and other service professionals and I did not trust a VA enough to do those things.

Also, I think if going the VA route, I've read to not have a general VA for everything, but rather specific VA's to handle each niche of your business. (Again, another reason why I personally like local staff, because mine are well educated and can handle a lot of different areas of my business.)

With all that said, hiring a VA is cheap enough that it's a fairly low risk investment. Additionally, if you have an AmEx card see if you're targeted for a promotion on Upwork for a $100 statement credit (I believe if you spend $200).

Best of luck!

Originally posted by @Quang Tran:

@Antonio Coleman Thanks for your comment on this thread, I appreciate it! Why would an investor want to sell someone his or her property that he or she can profit off of?

@Jonathan 

@Jonathan Makovsky Thank you for the comment! Any pointers, tips or tricks to how I can start learning new things rather than just reading book after book (although I dont mind reading and will continue to read). Im looking for a mentor at the moment but seem to be having troubles.

If you don't have the money to invest, you will need something else to compensate for that - my recommendation is become an expert in both general real estate and local real estate. 

General RE: know all of the terms, how real estate cycles work, financials (this is a MUST), what your end user wants [whether that's a homeowner, a tenant, a rehabber, etc.], 

Local RE: You need to know your local real estate market and you can learn that by reading the local newspapers (both general and business) and one of the best ways to learn what I found to learn what's going on locally is by following newspapers, journalists and towns on Twitter, also head to your local town hall and speak to the P&Z dept., EcoDev and other dept's to see what's going on in the town's you want to invest. 

I don't think there's a scientific approach to learning this except for putting in a lot of efficient hours (like the 10,000 hour rule that Malcolm Gladwell discussed in his book), so it needs to be a combination of books, networking, speaking to local builders, Realtors, investors, attorneys, CPA's, insurance agents, and every other person needed in a real estate deal will get you where you need to go. 

For most, it's hard beginnings to get in the game but there is likely a payoff if you can stay in it long enough.

[My recommendation is to stay in school and try to keep your student and personal debt low. While there is a very good argument for leaving college, it might severely limit your options if going on your own doesn't work out for you.]

Best of luck!

*Also, I am not sure if I would go as far to say that Connecticut law is not very favorable to landlords. We have yet to have anyone out in 3 days, even once we received an execution.

If it's in CT, my understanding is that you serve a Notice-to-Quit - which is intended to "quit" the tenancy - than you can still accept money, but it is not collected as rent, rather it is collected as "Use-and-Occupancy". However, I would STRONGLY advise you speak to an attorney before taking any advice.

Good luck! :)

There are a lot of ways to invest, and if you have the time, can hustle and be an expert in an area - you can likely partner and offer someone a lot.

Good luck on your journey - stay with it and you'll get there!

Looking forward to seeing everyone!

**IMPORTANT**: We moved the location around the corner to an awesome bar, Crave (52 Sanford St, Fairfield Connecticut)!

Date: Wednesday, Aug. 30thth @ 7pm! (Last Wednesday of every month - so please mark your calendars, except Nov. and Dec.)

Place: Crave, 52 Sanford St, Fairfield, Connecticut 06824

Time: 7PM mingle. At 7:30pm we go around room to introduce everyone so you can let everyone know what you do and who you would like to meet at the event (brokers, lenders, wholesalers, investors, attorneys, insurance agents, and more.)

No Cost: It's FREE! Okay it's almost free - please make sure to buy (lots of) drinks and food from the bar. Investors Location: We typically get investors from all over Connecticut (Fairfield County, New Haven County, Hartford County, Middlesex County), Westchester and NYC.


Happy investing!

Hi All Connecticut real estate folks - we're back for August 30th at Crave @7pm. Post to go up in the next few days - been slacking. :)

Hi Massachusetts landlords with 4+ multi-family buildings: What has been your experience owning large multi-family in Mass, particularly with the following:

• Lead/De-leading laws
• Warranty of habitability 
• Security Deposits vs. Last Month's Rent

Originally posted by @Elizabeth Zieman:

@Jonathan Makovsky I will definitely come on 8/30!  Where do you post details when date gets closer??  (And THANK YOU for organizing!)

Thanks Elizabeth. The post will go out shortly, please subscribe to keywords (Connecticut, Fairfield) or send me a  private message and I will also add you to the email list. Thanks!

@John Thompson Not sure of your budgetary constraints, but I have an attorney that serves up all of our Notices to Quit - which if you can do should help you out of you will be away when it needs to get served. 

Aside from the time our attorney saved us he also helped us collect money we never would have known we were entitled to. 

We try to hire specialists, and this attorney only practices eviction law, so he is pretty familiar with the system - this was a big hire for us.

Best of luck!